Dhaka, Sep 6 — Bangladesh’s Awami League on Saturday charged that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has turned security operations into instruments of repression, protecting convicted killers and extremist groups instead of ensuring public safety.
The party alleged that raids, red alerts, and security crackdowns—meant in democracies to safeguard citizens—have been repurposed over the past 11 months to silence opposition voices and intimidate ordinary people. “When Yunus’s government declares a red alert, it is less about capturing terrorists than insulating them from accountability,” the Awami League said, pointing to acquittals, case withdrawals, and secret deals replacing due process.
Meanwhile, peaceful demonstrators are branded as “threats” while extremist networks enjoy impunity. “The state’s protector has become its chief predator,” the party declared.
The Awami League also accused the regime of misusing Bangladesh’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, originally designed to combat cybercrime, as a weapon against dissent. Opposition leaders, it said, are dragged to court on fabricated charges, supported by partisan witnesses and compliant judges. “Justice has been hollowed out and repurposed as political revenge,” the statement added.
According to the party, the consequences are dire: extremist groups once condemned globally for brutal killings now operate freely, while citizens face arbitrary arrests, torture, and harassment for demanding democracy.
“The people of Bangladesh now live under siege. Security forces that should safeguard the nation have become enforcers of a paranoid regime. Dissent invites repression, and protest carries the risk of life itself,” the Awami League concluded.
